Hi Kayla! What a great question – I’m super interested to hear what others have to say on this topic. For me, it’s pretty clear that carrying cash makes it easier for me to spend. So I try to avoid carrying cash because for me, mentally, as soon as I withdraw cash from the ATM, the money is already “spent.” I can’t easily track where the money goes – so it gets frittered away on little things. In contrast, when I use my credit card, there’s a paper trail that – for me – imposes accountability. I have to answer to myself for everything I spent whenever I pay off my credit card at the end of the month. That erects a bit of a barrier against frittering and splurging. 🙂
By the way, I have a travel rewards credit card too, and I also use it to pay for everything. It’s worked for me for years – the rewards are nice. I got a Mac laptop and an iPad about a year ago. (This *may* be influencing my preference for credit vs cash…)
.